June 11, 2007  nº 500  -  Vol. 5

“Everything changes but the avant-garde.”

Paul Valery

Insider's view: see how local concerns shape up the global world. Read the daily press review in Migalhas International.

• Top News

500 !!!

This is the 500th edition of the Migalhas International newsletter. It is significant enough a milestone to pause and reflect on where we came from and where we are going. We have been mainly reporting on legal news and legal observations. We have added the celebrated Grammatigalhas and Law Firm Marketing columns. Our purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment. We are committed to producing the finest possible news report every day. As globalization also impacts the legal industry, we will soon expand our horizons in Latin America and we will help our readers face the new marketing and management challenges. Five hundred editions on, the same is true. We will do our best to serve you and to carry on the traditions of the newsletter as heretofore. We enjoy writing MI for you! I would like to thank you for being a reader of Migalhas International. 

Michael Ghilissen, editor

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Podcast

To celebrate this exceptional event, the editor has recorded a  podcast, which is proudly here as a premiere of a new feature of MI. Click here to read the article and listen to the podcast.

Praise

On this commemoration of the 500th edition of Migalhas International, Martindale-Hubbell, the international legal network, has the pleasure to express the most sincere wishes for a continued success. There is no doubt, Migalhas represents for the legal community the ideal forum to exchange ideas, knowledge, friendship, and to develop business opportunities... LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell is proud of the synergy created for the legal community by the alliance between the two organizations and always will look forward to offering tremendous value to everyone involved in the practice of law.

“C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S,  M I C H A E L !!! And more success for the future. All good wishes.”

“Migalhas International is not just any newsletter. It's a newsletter with a sense of mission. Congratulations on 500 editions.”

Keep up the good work!

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The US is clamping down on illegal migrants, but it relies on their labor

Immigration presents a challenge. Had the bill succeeded it would have provided a blueprint for Latin America to assist and indulge America's addiction to cheap labor. Migrants are generally believed to depress low-skilled American wages by around 5%. The state should not be teaming up with big business to keep it that way or, worse still, depress them further. The solution is not in vindictive local law enforcement but international, and particularly regional, development. Regional agreements such as Nafta and Cafta have liberated capital while local politicians criminalize labor, and immigration laws seek to imprison the poor in the poverty of the developing world. There are more successful blueprints available. Nafta should follow the EU's example of combining the free movement of labor with social cohesion funds to develop poor areas, whether in Detroit or Guadalajara. By promoting better labor laws and a regional minimum wage Nafta could provide an acceptable floor for wages and living standards rather than a ceiling that gets lower as the desperate barter their value down to subsistence. Such a plan is no more fanciful than politicians erecting legislative walls to keep the rest of the continent out of their hamlets. With 53% of children in the school district Hispanic, Greeley's future is Latino. And Latinos are already running the show. Not long after the Ice raid, Swift plants in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Texas and Utah netting around 1,300 undocumented workers, were bought by Brazilians.

New Breed of Law Firm Touts a Shift From Big-Firm Tradition

Latest legal shops are courting experienced, long-term hires who want a change from the familiar law firm model. Axiom Legal, is one among a handful of law firms, most launched within the last few years, that are wooing up-and-coming attorneys from top schools with impressive work experience to become part of what they say are operations far leaner than typical law firms. Formed under varying business structures, these shops tout the advantages of offering drastically cheaper rates for corporate clients and a different work culture for highly credentialed attorneys put off by big-firm practice.

Attorneys for these outfits work mostly on-site in corporate counsel offices and, typically, are free from the burden of billing huge numbers of hours to support high rents and leveraged partners. These organizations also generally reject the comparison to temporary employment agencies or staffing firms and say that their attorneys are hired for the long haul. They also say that they bring aboard only people with experience either in a top firm, in law departments or both. Their clients range from Fortune 50 companies to smaller technology startups that need a kind of part-time general counsel. 

Part of Axiom Legal's strategy is to complement the operations within legal departments -- or "internal law firms" -- which are getting bigger and are holding on to the more interesting work rather than farming it out to expensive law firms. Its goal is to provide extra help when departments need it for the work they keep in-house, as they send increasingly specialized matters to large firms. The result is a range of legal services that are cheaper for clients and more engaging and varied for attorneys to perform. The niche that organizations such as Axiom and others similar to it fill is a result of the "disaggregation" of legal work.

Studies say death penalty deters crime

Anti-death penalty forces have gained momentum in the past few years, with a moratorium in Illinois, court disputes over lethal injection in more than a half-dozen states and progress toward outright abolishment in New Jersey. The steady drumbeat of DNA exonerations — pointing out flaws in the justice system — has weighed against capital punishment. The moral opposition is loud, too, echoed in Europe and the rest of the industrialized world, where all but a few countries banned executions years ago. What gets little notice, however, is a series of academic studies over the last half-dozen years that claim to settle a once hotly debated argument — whether the death penalty acts as a deterrent to murder. The analyses say yes. They count between three and 18 lives that would be saved by the execution of each convicted killer. The reports have horrified death penalty opponents and several scientists, who vigorously question the data and its implications. So far, the studies have had little impact on public policy. New Jersey's commission on the death penalty this year dismissed the body of knowledge on deterrence as "inconclusive." But the ferocious argument in academic circles could eventually spread to a wider audience, as it has in the past.

The authoritative resource for information on the worldwide legal profession

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• MiMIC Journal

China death penalty verdicts drop

China has handed out fewer death sentences in recent months, since laws governing the system were tightened up. The number of death penalties meted out in Beijing courts this year dropped by 10% from the same time last year, the China Daily newspaper said. Last November the law was changed so that only China's top court now has the power to review and ratify sentences handed down by lower courts.

Olympic firms 'abusing workers' 

Makers of official 2008 Beijing Olympics merchandise are using child labor and abusing workers, campaigners say. In response to China's buildup, the Bush administration late last month delivered a forceful warning of the possible consequences if Beijing went to war over Taiwan. China reacted angrily to the Pentagon report, with a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman describing it as a "brutal interference" in its internal affairs and insisting that Beijing's military preparations were purely defensive.

China appears to confront U.S. defense of Taiwan 

An increasingly wealthy China is now building a military force tailored specifically to challenge any attempt by the United States to intervene in a conflict over Taiwan, Western and Chinese military analysts say.

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• Brief News

Senate to debate Gonzales no-confidence resolution

US Senator Charles E. Schumer announced Friday that an anticipated floor debate on a resolution expressing the Senate's lack of confidence  in beleaguered Attorney General Alberto Gonzales  will take place Monday. The no-confidence resolution, which is non-binding, will require the support of 60 senators to limit debate and further amendments to come to a vote. Schumer, a senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee , said that "if all senators who have actually lost confidence...  voted their conscience, this vote would be unanimous."

Antitrust Allegations

Google told antitrust enforcers that Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating-system software puts rivals at a disadvantage. The allegations, which the Justice Department is reviewing, are the latest chapter in a rivalry that stretches from Web search and online advertising to consumer software.

Deadline Comes for Lebanon to Ratify Tribunal

Sunday marks the deadline set by the United Nations for Lebanon to act on the proposed international tribunal in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. After that date, the U.N. will proceed with setting up the tribunal; Syria and its allies have voiced strong reservations.

Musicians allowed to take a bow

Top-flight violinists will be able to travel unhindered by endangered species restrictions after a compromise was reached on the wood in their bows. Professionals frequently use bows made from the pau brasil tree. The CITES meeting approved Brazil's proposal to put trade restrictions on the wood after a deal was made to exclude finished products. Conservation groups were disappointed that a bid to protect endangered cedar species failed. Latin American and Caribbean countries, which are home to cedars of the Cedrela genus, accused the European Union of not consulting them adequately before proposing trade restrictions.

Nato wary on joint missile shield

Nato has reacted cautiously to a Russian offer to use a radar facility in Azerbaijan as part of a joint missile defence system with the US. The alliance's secretary-general welcomed the proposal as a break with the "anachronistic" rhetoric between the two countries. But he warned the system would probably be too close to the "rogue states" it is designed to defend against.

India denied bribery extradition

An Argentine court has rejected a request by India to extradite a businessman sought in connection with the Bofors bribery case in the 1980s. The judge said he would explain his reasons later for refusing to hand over Italian suspect Ottavio Quattrochi.

Sao Paulo holds Gay Pride parade

Hundreds of thousands of gay, lesbian and transvestite people have taken part in a Gay Pride parade in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo. Organizers said the number of people taking part exceeded last year's record of 2.5 million marchers. The parade is said to be the largest of its kind in the world.

Musharraf Rescinds Media Regulations After Public Outcry

Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has withdrawn his decree that imposed new regulations on the news media, government officials said.

• Weekly magazines review

Time

The Case For Amnesty: It has emerged as the pariah term in the immigration debate. But here's why legalizing aliens makes sense. America's Hidden Workforce: Photographer Samantha Appleton explores the world of migrant laborers

Newsweek

Confronting Alzheimer: Millions of boomers are caring for parents afflicted with a disease that steals minds and memories. What life is like when your mother doesn't know you, or her own name.

Business Week

The Real Cost Of Offshoring U.S. data show that moving jobs overseas hasn't hurt the economy. Here's why those stats are wrong

The Economist

What other companies can learn from California's master of innovation (Apple Computers)

L'Express

Ségolène Royal: Les blessures secrètes 

Der Spiegel

Die Alpha-Mädchen
Wie eine neue Generation von Frauen die Männer überholt

• Daily Press Review

Africa

Explosion at the Ambassadeur Hotel - Nairobi
East African Standard, Liberal daily of Nairobi, Kenya

Strike mediators craft new proposal
Mail and Guardian, Liberal daily of Johannesburg, South Africa

Petauke schoolgirl commits suicide
Times of Zambia, Government-owned daily of Lusaka, Zambia

Americas

No need to fear oil exploration
Barbados Advocate, Independent daily of St Michael, Barbados

Bush meets with Pope Benedict
Buenos Aires Herald, Liberal daily of Buenos Aires, Argentina

Belgium Prime Minister to resign
The Globe And Mail, Centrist daily of Toronto, Canada

Burning rage - Elderly women attacked - Angry hubby on the run
Jamaica Gleaner, Centrist daily of Kingston, Jamaica

Children die in army roadblock shooting
The Guadalajara Colony Reporter, Independent weekly of Guadalajara, Mexico

Asia Pacific

Panel to blame discipline for fatal '05 derailment
Daily Yomiuri, Conservative daily of Tokyo, Japan

Heavy rains in southern China kill at least 66
People's Daily Online, Pro-government daily of Beijing, China

Newcastle preparing for floods
The Sydney Morning Herald, Centrist daily of Sydney, Australia

No Need of Separate Act to Rehabilitate War-hit: PM
The Himalayan Times, Independent daily of Kathmandu, Nepal

Fire hits ferry in Mindoro; 5 killed
The Manila Times, Pro-government daily of Manila, Philippines

MAS ordered to pay Brahmin RM20,000 in compensation for serving chicken meal
The Sun, Independent daily of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Europe

EU Mulls Ways to Entice Illegal Immigrants to Leave by Choice
Deutsche Welle, International broadcaster of Cologne, Germany

Finland-Serbia game was a night of European football diplomacy
Helsingin Sanomat, Centrist daily of Helsinki, Finland

Breakthrough reached at WTO talks - Gref
Interfax, Government-owned news agency, Moscow, Russia

Greens and FF in race against time to cut deal
Irish Examiner, Centrist daily of Cork, Ireland

Putin to Be Quizzed by Affable CEOs
The Moscow Times, Independent, English-language daily of Moscow, Russia

Bush: You've got to say enough is enough - Kosovo is independent
The Scotsman, Centrist daily of Edinburgh, Scotland

Security zones could affect  election in southeast, local poticians argue
Turkish Daily News, Independent daily of Istanbul, Turkey

Middle East

Camp followers
Al-Ahram Weekly, Semi-official, English-language weekly of Cairo, Egypt

Lebanese Army death toll in North rises to 58
The Daily Star, Independent, English-language daily of Beirut, Lebanon

Gemayel warning stokes fears of Lebanon backlash
Gulf News, Independent daily of Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Launch of new Israeli spy satellite seen successful
Ha'aretz, Liberal daily of Tel Aviv, Israel

Ahmadinejad, Ortega hold first round of talks
Islamic Republic News Agency, Government-owned news agency of Tehran, Iran

Israel successfully launches Ofek 7 spy satellite overnight
The Jerusalem Post, Conservative daily of Jerusalem, Israel

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